Linebacker Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should eventually start to slow down. Age and time both have a major role.

In his rating of the Top 32 linebackers in the NFL ahead of the 2024 season, PFF’s Gordon McGuinness still ranks 34-year-old David as one of the finest in the game, placing him at No. 6 going into his 13th season.

McGuinness stated, “David, 34, is coming off his lowest season-long PFF coverage grade since 2015.” Despite this, his 68.6 rating was still inside the top 25 for the position, and we had to go all the way back to 2022 to find him inside the top five. Among linebackers, his 88.0 PFF coverage grade was second.

David was ranked lower than only Deviarro Davis, a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints.

In ten seasons, David has racked up over 100 tackles. Following the 2020 campaign, he helped lead the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl triumph. In addition, he has been selected for three NFL All-Star teams and one Pro Bowl.

Following David’s new contract signing in March, Briana Dix of Buccaneers.com noted, “David was the lone player in the NFL in 2023 with 100-plus tackles, 15+ tackles for loss, and 3.0-plus sacks.” “Since data became available in 2008, his 17 tackles for loss during the previous season rank as the second-most by a player 33 years of age or older in a single season.” Throughout the postseason, David maintained his outstanding play, leading the team with 18 tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit, and a forced fumble.
Buccaneers Need Assistance in ’24 With Edge Rushers
In order to lock down the core of the defense, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht made two moves in the offseason: he signed safety Antoine Winfield to a four-year, $84.1 million contract, making him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.

Sadly, neither David nor Winfield are edge rushers, which is a position where the Bucs could really use their assistance.

Not exactly what you want in a safety, outside linebacker YaYa Diaby led Tampa Bay with 7.5 sacks as a rookie in 2023, while Winfield finished second on the team with 6.0 sacks. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, the team’s presumed other starting outside linebacker, was selected in the first round by the team in